BASF Coatings wins sustainability award for advancing sustainable automotive paintshop operations

• Recognition from ATZ/MTZ Group and Arthur D. Little   
• Overspray Free Application (OFLA) selected in the ‘Technology: Operations & Supply Chain’ category 
• OFLA is enabled by BASF Coatings’ ColorSharp decor coat paint technology for industrial two‑tone painting 
• Successful collaboration and implementation with industry partners 

BASF Coatings has won the Sustainability Award in Automotive 2026 for its Overspray Free Application (OFLA) process, an overspray-free approach to two-tone painting. The award was presented in the ‘Technology: Operations & Supply Chain’ category, which honors tangible technological and process innovations that make a measurable contribution to sustainability by improving industrial operations and production processes. The award is jointly organized by the ATZ/MTZ Group (Springer Nature) and the management consultancy Arthur D. Little. 

OFLA is a wet-on-wet process for two-tone vehicles. The contrast color is applied with digitally controlled paint jets, producing a sharp paint edge without masking, enabled by BASF Coatings’ ColorSharp decor coat paint technology, engineered for overspray-free application. With tailored rheology and optimized flow and leveling behavior, the paint is designed to support sharply defined jet-applied paint lines and helps avoid defects typically associated with conventional spray basecoats. Because the paint is placed only where needed, the process achieves 100% transfer efficiency and eliminates overspray. For OEMs, this can reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions, cut masking-related waste and deliver process-level paint savings, while maintaining stable serial quality. 

“The award underlines how process innovation, enabled by advanced paint technology, can fundamentally change the sustainability profile of automotive two‑tone painting without the efficiency and resource penalties of conventional approaches,” said Alvin Lao, Head of Global Sustainability, Automotive OEM Coatings at BASF Coatings. “The jury’s recognition highlights OFLA as a technology‑driven solution that delivers measurable environmental and operational value for automotive manufacturing.” 

OFLA is the result of close collaboration across the automotive value chain, combining BASF Coatings’ paint innovation and technology, Renault’s OEM manufacturing expertise, and Dürr’s advanced application and automation technology. At Renault’s Maubeuge plant, the OFLA two-tone process is deployed in serial production. Results show ~25% reduced energy consumption (about 1.7 GWh/year), ~300 tons of CO₂ reduction per year, elimination of ~300 g of masking-related, paint-contaminated waste per vehicle and ~200 g per vehicle of process-level paint savings by avoiding the second basecoat/clearcoat run required in conventional masking-based two-tone processes.  

For more information on how BASF Coatings is empowering change along its entire value chain, visit: www.basf-coatings.com/sustainability 

About BASF Coatings  

BASF Coatings is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings as well as applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. We share skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, South America, Middle East, Africa, North America and Asia Pacific. In 2025, our businesses achieved global sales of about €3.7 billion.   

BASF Coatings – Driven by passion and science, we always go beyond the surface. For more information, visit www.basf-coatings.com and follow us on LinkedIn. 

About BASF  

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 108,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.

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